Abstract
Scholars have only just begun to examine elements of young adolescents' social ecologies that explain naturalistic variation in trait mindfulness and its development over time. We argue that trait mindfulness develops as a function of chronically encountered ecologies that are likely to foster or thwart the repeated enactment of mindful states over time. Using data from 4,593 fourth and seventh grade students (50% female; MageG4 = 9.02; 71% English first language) from 32 public school districts in British Columbia (BC), Canada, we examined links from peer belonging, connectedness with adults at home, and peer victimization to mindfulness over time. Variable-centered analyses indicated that young adolescents with lower victimization in fourth grade reported higher mindfulness in seventh grade, and that cross-sectionally within seventh grade victimization, peer belonging, and connectedness with adults at home were each associated with mindfulness. Contrary to our hypothesis, connectedness with adults at home moderated the longitudinal association between victimization and mindfulness such that the negative association was stronger among young adolescents with high (vs. low) levels of connectedness with adults at home. Person-centered analysis of the fourth graders' data confirmed our variable-centered findings, yielding four latent classes of social ecology whose mindfulness levels in seventh grade largely tracked with their victimization levels (from highest to lowest mindfulness): (1) flourishing relationships, (2) unvictimized but weak relationships with adults, (3) moderately victimized but strong relationships, and (4) victimized but strong relationships. Overall, our findings contribute to a growing body of evidence indicating that trait mindfulness may develop as a function of ecologically normative experiences in young adolescents' everyday lives.
Highlights
A growing body of research documents the benefits of trait mindfulness—a person’s characteristic acceptance and awareness of present-moment experience—both in positive functioning and as a protective factor in the context of risks to poor functioning during adolescence [1–6; but compare this to 7]
We argue that trait mindfulness develops as a function of chronically encountered ecologies that are likely to foster or thwart the repeated enactment of mindful states over time
We examined the roles of peer victimization, peer belonging, and connectedness with adults at home in early adolescents’ mindfulness, both cross-sectionally in 7th grade and longitudinally from 4th to 7th grade
Summary
A growing body of research documents the benefits of trait mindfulness—a person’s characteristic acceptance and awareness of present-moment experience—both in positive functioning and as a protective factor in the context of risks to poor functioning during adolescence [1–6; but compare this to 7]. Trait mindfulness has emerged as a viable internal developmental asset, the developmental course of which has recently become a focus of scholarly attention [8,9,10,11,12]. Scholars have only just begun to examine elements of adolescents’ social ecologies that explain naturalistic variation in trait mindfulness and its development over time. As an entrenched disposition, trait mindfulness develops as a function of recurring experiences that are likely to foster or thwart the repeated enactment of mindful states over time [13, 14]. We examine the roles of one risk factor (peer victimization) and two assets (peer belonging and connectedness with adults at home) in predicting subsequent levels of trait mindfulness 3 years later during early adolescence
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